An Endless Tide
by PrincessHayLin
Summary: Meet James Turner, a boy stuck on an island when he dreams of sailing the seven seas. Meet Bella Rose, the rebellious runway, who puts together her own pirate crew. What will happen when fate, helps these two cross paths? TAKES PLACES AFTER POTC3
1. The Departure: James POV

**Takes Place After Pirates of the Caribbean 3**

**Summary: Living on an island all your life can be a bit dull, especially when piracy is in your blood. That is the exact idea that prompts James Turner to leave his beloved island and seek a life of on the seven seas.**

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**An Endless tide**

CHAPTER 1: THE DEPATURE

_**(James's Point of view)**_

The crimson sun rose over the edge of the shore and I realized how each day repeated. Again and again, the days mimicked each other. Today was not unlike the rest. Llike always, I arose to the bright sun, shinning through my window, Woke up mother and started the chores of the day. I went out to the valley and harvested the inland crops, helped mother with the laundry, then ventured off to the far side of the isle.

I had created my haven there, where I dreamed of the world I would never see. I was trapped on this island; I had been for my whole life. In reality, it was my mother who was truly trapped here. But she did not see it the same way I did, to her this was her home, our home, she said, and nothing in the world could replace it.

At dinner that night, the tension in the air was thick, smothering us both in a frozen silence. I had been dreading it, bringing up what had been on my mind all day. I wanted to leave the island, once and for all. But I was torn between two sides. On one side was the hope of seeing the world, finding my father out at sea and perhaps joining his crew. On the other side, arose the negative I couldn't bear. I would be leaving my mother here, alone on the island until I returned. I was eighteen, just barely a man, and father would, as promised, return to the island in another year. But I couldn't wait that long. The idea of sailing the seven seas, while I was bound to the land, ate at my insides like a cancer. I wanted to be able to share my adventures with my father when he returned.

"Is there something you want to tell me, James?" My mother purposed as I looked up from the table.

"No, Nothing." I stumbled over the words like they were poison.

"I've never seen you this quiet before. There must be something on your mind." She spoke softly.

I couldn't bear lying to her any longer.

"I was thinking the other day, about you and father... about your lives before the island. " I began, quietly.

"How you were pirates." I added.

Mother looked at me, her eyes narrowed. "But I never.."

"You didn't need to tell me about your past for me to know the truth." I said interrupting her mid-debate. "You told me who father really was two years ago. I just assumed you were a pirate too."

Mother was quiet, her eyes wondered from her hand, to the table, but never met my eyes. "That was a long time ago. My life as a pirate ended the night I found out I was pregnant. I couldn't raise a child to be a sea scandal like we were."

I sighed and spoke, "Mother, it's in my blood. Its in my heart to sail the sea, I can't stay here for the rest of my life."

For a moment, I stopped, waiting for her response. When I saw there would be none, I added, "You always knew that, didn't you?"

Finally, she looked up at me and gave me a forced smile.

"Of course I knew this day would eventually come, and now that it has, I wish I'd been more prepared for it."

I reached forward and grasped her small, fragile hand. "I won't be gone forever," I said in a whisper, "I'll come back, I promise."

Moments later, my mother began to cry and with each tear I felt my heart ache. I was slowly breaking her heart and all I could do was stand there and hold her as she cried on my shoulder. We didn't talk anymore about leaving the island after that. But I knew it was fate that I leave, we both knew that. However, the mind's knowledge and awareness would never stop the heart's pain.

The next morning, I decided not to bring up the subject again, in fear of upsetting her more. She hadn't told me as to whether she agreed on my departure but seeing her cry last night was enough of an answer.

As I entered the kitchen, I saw spread out on the floor many tools made from fine metal craftsmanship. Standing in front of them was my mother. Her eyes were watery but she looked as if she were trying her hardest not to shed a tear.

"Your father made these, when he was a blacksmith's apprentice years ago. I thought you'd need them to build yourself a respectable boat." She smiled and extended her arms forward. Immediately, I raced forward and wrapped my arms around her.

"Thank you." I whispered.

This was it, I was going to get away from this place and see the world.

For several weeks after that, I went inland and collected dry wood that I cut, and shaped, building myself a strong but simple boat for my travel.

Mother sat inside that house, netting together a sail from old clothing. Occasionally, she come beside me and watched me build, keeping me company.

It was nearly two months later, when the boat was complete and I, fighting back exhaustion, was more then ready to set sail.

I stood out by the shore, checking the boat for flaws one final time.

My mother came up beside me and placed in the boat jars of preserves.

I smiled and we embraced.

"I promised myself I wouldn't cry." She said laughing as a tear fell down her cheek.

"Here, you'll need these." She said, placing in my palm a bag of gold coins and a compass adding with a laugh, "This one actually works."

"I love you mother," I said smiling as I let her go and jumping into my boat.

The boat rocked violently for a bit as it sailed over the crashing waves. Eventually it calmed, and the shore quickly faded into the distance. Even so far away I could see my mother waving good bye. I waved back and turned toward the sea wondering what I would encounter beyond my island.


	2. The Runaway: Bella POV

This chapter starts off introducing Bella Rose, the runaway pirate wannabe. (yet another short chapter just to introduce the character background.) Please review

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An Endless tide

**CHAPTER 2: THE RUNAWAY**

_(Bella's point of View)_

I had had enough of it all, of all the pink bows, hoops skirts and powdered noses. Everyone wanted me to be something they knew I'd never become. So why did they still bother? Why did they still try to dress me up when they knew I'd only tare out of their ridiculous clothing anyway?

The women were all so prim in proper. They carried with them dainty little fans that they didn't even use to cool their faces. They only hid behind them and giggled when men passed. How pointless. I never understand the way they all acted.

They weren't like me at all and I knew why. This wasn't really my home. The truth was my mother had only been a maid here years ago. The mistress's hand maiden told me once, that my mother often ran off in the middle of the night to rendezvous with a mysterious lover. No one had met him before but they all knew my mother was in love. Of course, those secret meetings lead to little old me but my mother died in child birth and I was never able to meet her... or my father for that matter. I didn't even know if he was alive or dead but I'd find out the truth someday.

The owners of this great house, the Gasper family, had taken me in and raised me as their daughter… or at least they tried to. I was always running away from home, especially when they had their parties. Every time they'd try to fit one of those torture devices they called a corsets on me, I'd run for the hills.

I would often wonder down the streets and out to the docks where I'd sit for hours, watching the ships come in and out. I'd always wanted to be the captain of my own crew and it wasn't till I'd ventured those very docks that I got what I was looking for. I was surprised to find on my travels, how many kids there were like me, either orphans or runaways. So, I simply gathered them up and made them an offer, stay in this dull town, or join my crew. Of course they chose the latter.

I had gathered fourteen of them, all of them being boys. Five were between the ages of twelve and fourteen, two were ten, five were fifteen, one was sixteen, like me, and finally one was eighteen. My favorite of my crew had to be the brothers Twig and Mute, sixteen and eighteen. They had come from a wealthy family like me and according to Twig, they left because of an experience he had involving red candy and "sprinkley things." I never bother to ask for the full story.

Twig was a skinny looking boy, tall and lanky. His name pretty much described him perfectly well. But he was however frightened by loud noises; a flaw I thought would need fixing if he was to become a pirate. Mute on the other hand was the opposite. He too was tall but more robust and muscular. He wasn't very responsive, and like his name, he preferred to sit quietly. Twig told me once that it wasn't that he didn't know how to talk; it was just that he never had anything to say.

I also had a deep love for Teddy, the ten year old orphan who had become some what of a little brother to me. He tried to act so brave when he was just a little kid and still didn't know what it meant to be brave. But I admired his strength and made him my cabin boy.

Together, the fifteen of us had many adventures in the town. We were like the legendary Robin Hood and his merry men, robbing from the rich to giving to the poor. Twig, Mute and I each took from our former houses and gave the money to the poor families who lived on the streets. It always made us feel more like heroes rather then pirates. I told the boys that we would have to be tough, more rigid but helping those people was an addiction that was hard to break. I had even developed the alias of "the Raven" among them because I traveled under the cover of night and ran with a speed that made me seem like I were flying.

When we finally decided to "truly" run away and get out of this town, we snuck quietly into the docks, making sure the guards were asleep (as always).Mute and Twig's father owned several ships, and we had planned to steal the smallest one. We thought we'd have the best luck stirring it out of the harbor quietly.

Like ants, we crawled around the ship, the younger ones like monkeys hanging from the sails. Mute immediately took hold of the stirring as Twig climbed up the bird's nest and I helped any where I could. As captain of the crew, most of the time I could only watch in amazement at how far they'd all come. Years ago they were frightened children, now they'd learned so much. They knew how to man a ship.

In no time we were actually able to stir the boat out the harbor; the wind was with us. I smiled at my crew and then turned to face the harbor. In some strange way, I'd miss it. I'd miss the Gasper Family and their odd ways. I'd miss the people of the town we'd helped. But I needed to leave. Out there, somewhere was my father, just waiting to be found.


	3. Tortuga: James POV

Please Read and Review! An author always appreciates some R&R

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An Endless tide

**CHAPTER 3: TORTUGA**

**_(James's Point of View)_**

The nights were rough and so were the days. The storms brought me close to drowning on several occasions and the strange creatures that lurked below me kept me anything but giddy. I ran out of preserves early on the trip after a storm titled the boat under water, knocking out everything inside the boat. I was too busy at the time fixing the sails and drying the map to worry about the jars that were undoubtedly lying at the bottom of the sea.

After the storm, I sat gazing at the map, trying to remember the places mother had told me were safe to dock. I remember her specifically saying something about a place called Tortuga, so I only assumed it was a safe port. In a swift decision, I set course for Tortuga, heading north from where the storm at struck.

When I reached the harbor, I was on the verge of fainting from starvation. I didn't even notice how shady the port looked, how the streets were filled with criminals, and how dark clouds seemed to only hang over this strange place.

The man who took my docking fee had a long, dirty beard and patch over his left eye. When I handed him my fee, he lifted the patch, revealing a hole in his head where his eye should have been. But even that did not bother me; I was only focused on finding enough food to sustain myself.

I rushed forward through the narrow alley, moist with mold. Coming toward me was a man dressed in military attire, white and red. He was cursing effusively about the poor service at the local inn. I didn't notice that as we crossed paths, I accidentally bumped into him, causing him to curse again loudly in response.

At the end of the alley was the Inn which looked to me as welcoming as a golden palace.

Inside, there were men of all kinds, tall, short, big, small, sitting around gambling, stretching their graying beards in thought and singing drunken songs as the sound of a fettle played in the distance. A large woman in red, pranced around the room, serving rum to the already drunk sailors, who smacked her as she walked by.

It amazed me how many interesting characters dwelled in the Inn, and I had become one of them.

I walked over to the bar and sat on one of the uneven stools, still taking in everything around me. The inn's mistress approached me with a wink.

"What can I got you lad?" She asked. Her breath smelt of bitter apples.

"I'll take whatever is cooking in the kitchen." I said putting three gold coins in the palm of her hand.

She grinned brightly, revealing a huge gap in-between her front teeth. As she ran off into the kitchen, I heard her yell, "We have royalty in our little inn! Royalty!"

I turned to the side of the stool and saw a strange character sitting beside me. He was draped in a long black cloak that covered everything but his leather gloved hands, rested on top of the bar. After a while, he reached under the cloak and pulled out a packet knife. For a moment, I thought he was going to become violent but he only used it to chip away wood from the bar's surface.

"Here's your food sir! Anything else ya need?" The mistress asked but I shook my head in response.

I looked down at the food in front of me. Its smell was horrid and the look was close in comparison but I didn't care, my stomach didn't care what the food looked like as long as it was edible which… was debatable at that point. But I ate it anyway and was surprised that its foreign taste was actually quite good.

The woman came up again and again to refill my glass and ask if the food was alright. I couldn't understand why the man hadn't liked the place. Everyone seemed very nice.

After I had finished my meal, I sat in the numbed happiness that only a full stomach could bring. But that happiness ended quickly when bursting through the swinging doors, immerged a mad man, red with anger. As I looked closely, I realized it was the military man I'd ran into earlier.

"Which one of you God damned criminals stole my gold?" he shouted, and everything became deadly quiet. No one replied.

"I said… who was it that stole my gold?" he said louder as he marched through the room.

The mistress, who was shaking in the corner of the room, spoke up first.

"That... That boy! Over there! He paid with gold!"

My jaw nearly fell off my face. I hadn't stolen anything. That gold belonged to me, not this man.

"You! I remember you! You bumped into me earlier you little pickpocket!" he accused as he charged toward me.

"I swear, I haven't stolen a thing from you!" I replied defensively.

The military man chuckled and from his belt, pulled out a long sword. Swiftly he came at me, his sword nearly missing me as I jumped away from the bar. The people around us shouted and howled, encouraging the fight. But the stranger, sat still, unaffected.

Again and again, I ducked away from the sword, missing what could have been fatal attacks.

I had nothing to fight back with.

"Stop jumping around! Fight back or let me go ahead and kill you. That would be one less criminal to keep track of!"

His sword came forward and sliced my leg open. Blood gushed onto the floor. I stumbled and leaned against the wall to keep from falling.

The man placed his sword right at my throat.

"Last chance boy, give me my gold or face your maker." He threatened.

"But I told you before; I didn't take your gold!"

In anger, the man dug the tip of the sword into my flesh.

"Hey!" Someone shouted from behind the man, distracting him for the moment.

I seized that opportunity and ducked away from the sword.

The stranger stood up from the bar, swung the cloak to the side and revealed a belt armed with an assortment of weapons. He pulled out a long sword and tossed it forward. Surprisingly, I was able to grab the grip rather then the blade.

Now, more furious then ever, the man screamed as he rushed his sword at me. I was able to use defensive moves to block his attacks again and again. I moved with a swiftness that surprised even me, but that wouldn't help me for long. The pain in my leg kicked in again and I stumbled to my knees. The man rushed up behind me and right as he was about to strike, the stranger stopped him by breaking a bottle of rum over his head. Immediately he fell to the floor and in shock, I stood over him, frozen.

"Don't just stand there; let's get out of here before he wakes up!" The stranger barked in a voice that was higher than I'd expected it to be.

Quickly, we both ran out of the Inn, leaving behind the military man and the strange people who yelled and screamed unfathomable words at us.

The stranger was swift and I struggled to keep up with him at certain points, but when we reached the docks, the stranger came to a sudden stop.

"Thanks for your sword back there. I would be dead if not for you," I said, trying to catch my breath between each word.

The stranger stood silent for a moment, searching the docks back and forth.

"Did you forget where you docked your ship or something?" I asked, trying to follow his gaze.

"Those stupid boys! I tell them 'Come to the docks when the moon reaches the center of the sky." He paused and pointed up to the moon.

"Do you see that?" he continued.

"See what?" I asked.

"The moon! Its way past the center now. I give them one job and they can't even do that right." The stranger sighed and started to walk down the length of the docks.

"Wait, where are you going?" I asked as I followed behind.

"To find my crew of course! They're probably just beyond the shore, at the inlet just south of here." His step suddenly became brisk, so in return, I sped up my own pace.

The stranger slightly turned his head and then walked faster. Again, I tried to keep up the pace.

"Would you quite following me? I have better things to do then worry about some boy who feels he has a debt to pay." The stranger said sharply as he turned around quickly, catching me off guard. The only chance I had of stopping myself was by putting my palms forward and leaning against his chest.

In response, his face blushed from underneath his dark hood and I realized what a huge mistake I'd been making.

"You're... You're a girl?" I stuttered as her arm came forward and stroke me across the cheek.

She pulled off her hood, revealing bouncy locks of dark brown hair.

"Of course I am! Are you blind? Well, I guess you must be to find it necessary to feel me up!" She shouted as she sprinted off, trying to get as far away from me as possible.

"Wait! It was a mistake! I honestly didn't know." I groaned and ran off after her.

We ran for quite awhile until we reached the inlet she'd mentioned earlier and of course, there in the middle of the water was a ship. It wasn't like my dinky little boat. This ship was huge with large cream colored sails that swayed in the moonlight. Its cherry colored wood glistened all over the ship's surface.

The nameless girl ran onto the ship, yelling something at the crew. Was she really their captain… a girl?

I reached the front of the ship where a ramp touched the edge of the shore, leading up into the deck. Just as I was about to board, the girl came back out, but this time she wasn't alone. Around her stood a band of tough looking kids, who were ready to beat the living hell out of me.


	4. The Maid: Bella POV

**An Endless tide**

**CH 4: (_Bella's Point of View)_**

Who did that idiot think he was? Did he just roam around the streets of Tortuga, waiting for some helpless girl to stroll on by and molest her? Was he that stupid?

He had no idea what kind of girl he was dealing with. I was anything but helpless.

When I reached the boat, I alerted my crew to the problem at hand. They came, immerging out of the wood work. The younger ones looked up at me in horror, not completely understanding what was going on. Twig came up beside me, his fingers twitching.

"Where is this pervert, let me at him!" he said as Mute joined him in pursuit, cracking his knuckles.

The crew followed behind, out of the ship and faced, in red hot anger, the boy from the bar.

"Who do you think you are, hurting our captain?" Teddy said as he grasped hold of my hand.

"You'll get out of here if you know what's good for you!" A red head named Spike added in.

"Wait! It was an honest mistake!" The boy said defensively.

My eyes narrowed as I pushed though the crowd my crew had formed around the boy. When I was finally right next to him, I looked him square in the eye, testing him.

"Well, say something!" I demanded.

"I swear, I meant you no harm." He said, no louder then a whisper, looking right into the centers of my eyes.

I studied his face carefully and sighed.

"What should we do with him Bella, hang him from the bird's nest?" Twig purposed.

"Feed him to the sharks!" Another boy chimed in.

"No," I said, holding a hand up to stop them from going any further. "How about… he joins our crew?" I suggested with a smirk.

"What? No way! He can't!" A boy with blonde hair protested.

Mute came up next to me and gave me a look of pure disagreement.

"We will make him work for us, swab the decks, prepare the meals, man the sails." I patted the boy on the cheek. "Our little maid" I said, mocking him.

Surprisingly, the boy didn't argue, he simple hung his head low as he spoke, "I will do anything to make this up to you."

I raised an eyebrow at him. A boy, whom I'd first found in Tortuga's infamous bar, was as tough as the girls of the Gasper manor. I was more of a man then he was.

"Alright then it's settled everyone on the ship! Study the sails! Let's get out of this god forsaken Tortuga." I ordered, marching up the ramp, back onto my ship.

"Bella wait! You can't possibly want this guy on our ship." A boy named Mouse exclaimed, sneaking up behind me like he always did.

"Come on, he can't be that bad. Besides, you might not have noticed but Cricket hasn't been... Well, he hasn't been too great with working the sails lately." I pointed out to him, looking toward the loose sails where Cricket dangled, swinging back and forth singing a song about a witch who took children to a house made of gingerbread. He was a pretty hyper-active kid and had a hard time focusing on just a single thing. He "jumped" from one thing to another.

Mouse just stared at me and moved toward the front of the ship, where he helped the other boys ready us for departure.

I ordered the stranger to help them. He stumbled along, often confused about what he was doing, but eventually he seemed to get a hang of it. Heaving and Hoeing he pulled the roped and the sails rose up into the night sky.

I took the helm and the ship moved beneath my grip, moving up and down with the crushing waves.

Once we were far enough away from Tortuga that I didn't have to check every which way for drunken pirates, I ordered Mute to take the helm as I officially greeted our new maid.

He was leaning up against the railings at the side of the ship, breathing heavily. Occasionally he checked his hands which looked a bit swollen. I saw sweat roll down his cheek, glistening in the moon light.

"Was the work too rough for our little maid?" I said smirking as I leaned next to him on the railing.

He didn't even glance at me as he continued to try and catch his breath.

I took the moment to study him a bit. He had a strong jaw bone and dark brown eyes, as rich as the earth. His arms were built, muscular, and showed no sign of scaring. For one thing, he hadn't been out at sea very much. He looked like he was going to be sick but held it in as he griped to the wood behind him.

I laughed a little, saying, "Oh! Breathe in that salty sea air! Isn't it wonderful?"

Again, he ignored me, focusing more on keeping the vomit inside his mouth.

"What, do the sirens have hold of your tongue? Say something boy!" I shouted.

It wasn't till he spoke that I realized it wasn't vomit he was holding in, but words.

"Look, I am sorry for what I did. I didn't mean to do that to you. This is my first time off the island and everything is a bit new to me! I don't know how to be a pirate but I want to become one and find my father. He is out there somewhere with a crew of his own and I know if I became good enough, I might just..."  
"Slow down there! Take it easy." I said, holding my hand over his mouth to quiet him causing him to look at me with wide eyes.

"I didn't even get your name in that speech of yours." I said smiling.

"It's James." He said, once I'd released my hand from his mouth.

"And I'm Bella, Captain Bella Rose." I smiled brightly, proud of my title."So, your father's a pirate huh?"

"Sure is, sailing… somewhere out there." James said, looking 0ut at the vast ocean that lied out before us.

"Well one thing I know is that right now every pirate from every stretch of the globe is gathering in the Gulf of Guinea. It's rumored that a copied map to fountain of youth is being held in the trading docks there. Maybe your father is on his way there with his crew as well." I explained to him as I played the strings on my blouse.

"We need to set a course there then!" He shouted in excitement, his face brightening up.

I looked at him, narrowing my eyes. "Hold on a second boy, let's get something straight. _I _am the captain of this ship, the Siren Maiden. _You _take orders from _me_. And besides, what makes you think I'd even want to go there... such a waste of time."

"But... if you had the map… maybe you could sell it for a lot of money! Or even better… if you were able to find the fountain of youth, you could sell the water for five hundred times our weight in gold!" James said, trying desperately to convince me.

I looked at him and then slowly walked toward the deck, facing my crew who had been secretly spying on our conversation.

Suddenly, I shouted out, "Mute!"

He looked at me from the Helm.

"Set a course for the Gulf of Guinea. We are going to find ourselves the fountain of youth."


	5. The Duel: James POV

I am not a Historian. So, some things may not be Historically correct. But, this is ficiton.. is it not?

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CH 5: James POV

I couldn't believe it. We were really heading for the Gulf of Guinea where hopefully my father was heading like any other pirate.

I'll admit, I hadn't thought working for this "pirate crew" would involve so much work. But I was used to hard labor.

Their captain and the victim of my harassment, Bella, was always watching me on the ship, waiting for me to make a mistake.

"James, this knot is wrong. Do it again."

"James, this fish is too raw. Cook it again."

"James."

"James."

"James!"

Days passed by with the same abuse and at night I often found myself collapsing against the wood work beneath my feet. I found the motion of the waves a comfort and it was at those times that I thought of my mother, alone on the island.

One morning, when the sun was beating down upon our faces, Bella walked out from the captain's quarters and wearing a hat decorated with bright red feathers, she announced that we were almost to our destination.

"Bella lets play 'The scoundrel and the buccaneer'!" Teddy shouted in excitement. The other boys hollered in agreement.

"What's 'The scoundrel and the buccaneer'?" I questioned, glancing from the small boy to Bella.

Bella came toward me then, strolling down the cherry colored steps and smirked.

"It's just a silly little game we came up with. One person is the outlaw and the other is the one trying to enforce the law. It's a simple role-playing game, really." she explained in an oddly sinister voice.

"Sounds… fun?" I said weakly.

"Well, consider yourself volunteered to be the buccaneer!" Cricket sung and laughed insanely.

"Grab a sword, you'll need it." A boy named Thunder instructed in a monotone voice as he pointed toward an assortment of weapons that were being held out to me by the crew.

I chose a simple sword, offered to me by Mouse and watched as Bella removed her long elaborate coat and played with a sword in her hands, embroidered with golden crests.

"Aim for her left side, she is weaker there." Thunder whispered, smiling.

I gave him a questioning look, before I realized that this was going to be a real duel.

"Alright then," Bella said in a booming voice, causing the crew to back away from her, forming a circle, "Let's play".

Suddenly, she came at me, her sword barely missing my flesh. I tightened my grip on my own defensive weapon and blocked her blade as she charged me again. The metals clashed, shinning from the sunlight as we fought.

"You'll never take me alive you damned buccaneer." Bella said with a scowl. Playing along I spoke, "Your crime days are over you scoundrel."

Again, our swords sparked. The song they created was seductive, drawing both of us in as we continued our duel. Together we moved to the center of the ship as a wave rocked past us, tilting the ship. I lost my balance slightly and Bella's sword came forward, passing right above my shoulder.

"Almost got ya," she said in a low voice as she immerged from her character. She continued to say, "Let that be your first training lesson. Keep on your feet. Don't saw weakness and don't _ever_ give me an open opportunity."

I regained my stance and our swords began their dance once again. However, as the ship swayed once more, I was able to quickly glance to see Mute grip the helm tightly and with a single trust, move the wooden wheel completely around. So, he'd been causing the ship to move violently the whole time. Was there some sort of secret plot against me?

I don't know if I could blame him if there was.

The ship was rocking back and forth and even Bella couldn't keep her feet study. I saw her eyes widen as the ship's left side flew up over another wave, throwing Bella's back against the railing on the right side.

Watching as she struggled to keep herself from falling into the ocean depths, I found myself leaving behind my sword and sliding down the side of the slanted deck.

The ship rocked once again, sending Bella off of the railing and surely into the ocean if I hadn't come sooner.

I was able to grab hold of her arm as the rest of her body dangled just a few feet from the surface of the water.

"I got you," I told her, trying to ease the worry I saw on her face. However, the moment after I'd spoken, it wasn't reassurance that masked her sea salted face but a devilish smirk. Her foot hooked onto the railing and, swinging her body up onto the deck, she was able to plunge the tip of her pointed boot deep into my gut.

In a sudden rush of pain, I fell to my knees as the ship slowly began to regain a study balance over the sea. Bella, on the other hand, gracefully stood up and smiled down at my disgruntled appearance.

"You showed your weakness." She said simply and her crew flew toward her in response, cheering in her triumph.

"That was amazing Bella!" Teddy shouted, jumping up and down beside her.

"Such skillful technique, Captain," Doc added in. Bella smiled kindly down at the boys and playfully messed with Teddy's scruffy blonde hair.

"He's not very good is he?" Twig spoke loud enough so I could hear him.

"Hey! You try sword fighting on a ship rocking back and forth and then you can get back to me on that!" I said in my own defense.

"But that's how the game is played, James," Mouse said as if he were so shocked that I hadn't known that to begin with.

"You think someone would have bothered to tell me that…" I said in anguish, glaring over at the prideful bell.

"You never asked." She said nonchalantly.

"But I did…" I began but was soon cut off by shouting coming from up above us. "Bella! There are ships out there. Tons of them! Just beyond the horizon. We have to be really close!" A boy named Robin was my interrupter, standing on top of the bird's nest. I hadn't realized he'd even been up there.

How in Calypso's name had he managed to stay up there while the ship rocked back and forth?

"Perfect!" Bella shouted back with a wide grin, "Competition".

The whole crew flew to the right side of the ship, leaning their bodies half way off the railing and almost causing the vessel to tilt. I joined them and saw the boats or rather the faint dots that lined the edge of the horizon in front of us.

"Maybe your father is one of them," Bella spoke without facing me, standing by my side. I didn't answer her; I just stared out at the glistening scope, hypnotized.

"Mute, come check this out. I will take the Helm." Bella said as a gust of wind swept past us.

Mute stepped down the wooden steps and gripping the wooden wheel, Bella smiled brightly over at us.

"This is it," she began, "We are going to be with the big leagues this time, no more of the pirates-in-training we have dealt with before. These guys are the real thing."

The sails caught the wind in their grasp and moving faster over the waves, we neared the awaiting ships. Soon, we were right next to them, all lined up in a row, ships everywhere, crowding the coast line.

As we moved along with the others, we were able to see it, the trading port we'd been waiting for, the Island of Sáo Tomé. It was at that time that I realized that this port, the place where I might find my father, had made me forget my aggression toward Bella. She _had _taken me here and as much as we fought, I was utterly grateful for what she had done for me.

The dock was packed full of passenger vessels and trading ships, unloading their contents onto the land. We were able to stir our own ship by the side of the docks, where rocks underneath us served as our own little loading port.

I am sure Bella made the decision not to dock in the port to avoid the docking fee and to remain at least a little discrete. Besides, compared to the towering ships that were flooding into the port, it was unlikely that anyone would notice our small ship.

Cricket and I lowered the anchor and before we knew it, we were treading through the shallow water around us. Just as we were half way to shore, Bella turned around and ordered four of the boys to stay behind and keep watch of the ship while we were gone. She must have forgotten to do so early, I assume.

As we made it up to shore, Bella lead us round to the entrance of the dock where soldiers and pirates alike were walking up to the trading markets. They all looked rather strange. I spotted one man who had a mustache that curled up to the corners of his eyes. Another man had a long braid that went down to his feet. As we walked on, I saw a man being waited on by servants, who offered him jewels and gold finery. These were the world's pirates or at least, the last few of them that remained.

"Over there, that's the trading market. The map should be in there, somewhere." Bella said in a faint whisper.

"We need to look out for shady characters, someone who looks like they are hiding something." Doc added in.

"This place is too big for all of us to cover together. We need to split up." With her words, I saw Teddy's eyes widen.

"Mute, Twig and Teddy, head south. Robin, Doc and Mouse, go east. Spike and Red you'll go west and James, Thunder and I… we'll go north," Bella instructed, "Got that?"

"But Bella, I want to go with you. These people are scary." Teddy cried, clinging to Bella's arm.

"It's alright Teddy," She spoke tenderly to the boy, "Listen, you are our secret agent because you are so young that no one will suspect you were a pirate. You should feel honored." With that, she held his hand tightly and the, as if they were reading each others minds, Mute and Bella nodded to one another in some sort of agreement.

"Stay with Mute and Twig. They'll make sure you're safe. Now, come on, let's go. Meet back at the ship when the sky is red with Dusk."

So, we were off, designated to our own investigative groups. Thunder and I stirred though the labyrinth of small carts and open stands being lead by our Captain Bella. As we continued on into the unknown land, one thing was very clear, if the map were there, I'd make sure we found it.


End file.
